1. |
Age
02:05
|
|
||
|
this age won't wait
it'll just keep on coming
as we all wait for the time of our lives to happen
I've spent so long just mulling it over
I've spent so long just waiting around
and I say
we're singing our hearts away
this rent will rise just enough for us all to feel lost
this stench will rise just enough for the crust at the top
We worked so long, we couldn't keep up
we worked so long, we couldn't give up
but I say
we're singing our hearts away
we sing, for us, for loss
|
||||
2. |
Carelessly Light
01:56
|
|||
|
brother of mine
you're somewhere colder than I
(it wasn't always this way, I promise)
that home wasn't mine
the walls were dirtied with time
(it wasn't always this way, I promise
and now the road are marked
and cut into shreds
and all these years are marked
we couldn't, we couldn't
give an inch, a yard
or hundreds of miles
and yes I promise
because it didn't work
and now there isn't the time
to intervene its demise
we're walking carelessly light
because it didn't work
|
||||
3. |
Cut and Dried
02:33
|
|||
|
sad little pictures hang on the wall
bless this house for the coming war
just hope that he sees them soon
there's no luck, only providence
to overcome this remorcefulness
you said it's cut and dried
you said it's cut and dried
but everything you asked for couldn't stop the rain
(oh, shout from the rooftops
over and over and over until this is done)
|
||||
4. |
Home
02:27
|
|||
|
I've been holding out for years now
covered in this black soot
hiding from the sun
there was never anyone
for a hundred empty years
I awaited your return
when're you coming home?
sounds still echo through the hallways
disembodied voices forgot when I was young
when're you coming home?
|
||||
5. |
The Long Mainland
02:46
|
|||
6. |
Remember Again
01:45
|
|||
|
none of your friends are gone
no matter how bad it seems
pulled from the back of your mind
these images colour the air
under all the words you say
but there are no terms for this
no expression on your face
like mourning again for loss
but remember again - you're loved
|
||||
7. |
No, Oh Grey
01:39
|
|||
8. |
Murder Songs
04:08
|
|||
|
and all this I overheard
the movement that shadowed the earth
underneath there was the shoreline singing
and I said nothing
and all this I overheard
remember the sound of the words
piece by piece there was a great crescendo
the quickening flow
pulled on the corner of us
and the whole thing fell apart
the quickening flow
coiled in the shape of our home
unravel us apart
coiled in the shape of our home
unravelled everywhere that we found
you're oh so righteous
and running scared
one-time abundance
is everywhere
murder songs
written by everyone
murder songs
written for everyone
|
||||
9. |
As The City Cries Out
03:38
|
|||
|
howling voices screaming tired narration
never thinking to stop
we are mourning in this hollow vacuum
where the silence gives us up
empty seconds expand the distance
as the city cries out
drifting away, I let go of your hand
as the city cries out
for loss and light
cold hands spread out
moving out voices into frozen air
evaporating into the night
|
||||
10. |
Dressed for the Riot
02:59
|
|||
|
I just can't fill this glorious space
the rot runs deep; it's what we've embraced
still we're too small and deeply ingrained
flies on the wall, always in the way
you will see me again in a different life
you will see us all again - I guarantee it
she was so quiet, dressed for the riot
chaos she can mediate
infinite means put to the fire
chaos she can mediate
all over town the people are singing
chaos they can't mediate
let's just sit back and wait for our demise
chaos we can't mediate
|
||||
11. |
Morning Haze
03:04
|
|||
|
come on over, and show your obvious joy
at this hallowed place that we found
it's a pleasure just to see the smile on your face
we hide in the shade, and fall into pieces
and hope that this day will never end
we hide in the shade, and fall into pieces
and scatter them out
I am falling into this decadent place
that my heart is calling its home
but out here I feel this beautiful clarity
we hide in the shade, and fall into pieces
and hope that this day will never end
we hide in the shade, and fall into pieces
and scatter them out
we don't want help, but they disagree
in the morning haze we were so happy
|
||||
12. |
Glistening
02:28
|
|||
|
staring right into your doubt
a thousand flaws in the dust
to speak in so many tongues
to bless us all with your love
staring right into your doubt
the sky has parted again
for all these terrified people
cover the earth in this rain
glistening, glistening
but not for long
you were wrong
and all this
and all this is gone
|
||||
13. |
A Thickness of Ice
03:54
|
|||
|
and in these coming days you will become a burnt out light
in fits and bursts you move, and in your daze we will collide
on my breath, the sweetest smell, and in my hands the nectar has run dry
and every time you laugh I can see the spite drip from your eyes
as a child I'd listen to these quiet steps
you've become that storm in the back of my head
this runs in flights and drops, through patterns I'll never surmise
from deepest, darkest lows into the dizziest of highs
but the meanings of these words drift away under this moonlight sky
and scramble as I might, this will not end until the morning light
as a child I'd listen to those quiet steps
you've become that storm in the back of my head
for all that I have learned just cannot help me here
I have broken a thickness of ice formed by the years
|
||||
14. |
Experimental Ghost
03:11
|
|||
The Contortionist London, UK
The Contortionist is me, Andy Hirst; usually alone, but sometimes with friends. We even had a proper band for a while (The
Contortionist and The Wandering Boy Poets).
I've been in a load of bands over the years playing various things: drums in Nixon, The Broken Chairs, and The Purgatory Players, guitar in Situationists, guitar/keys/vocals in Japanese Sleepers and Fall Forwards.
... more
The Contortionist recommends:
Little Victories
by Japanese Sleepers
The only "proper" release by one of my old bands, Japanese Sleepers.
go to album
Deserts
by The Purgatory Players
Bob Saull is a good friend, and a brilliant songwriter. His songs can often be bleak and difficult, yet somehow also manage to be witty and catchy. I played drums in this band for many years.
go to album
Everything Unsaid
by Screaming Maldini
The final album by Screaming Maldini, the best band in Sheffield for many years. Really sad to see them go.
go to albumIf you like The Contortionist, you may also like:
Eat Your Own Ears Recordings EP 2
by Eat Your Own Ears Recordings
featured on Bandcamp Radio Oct 11, 2022
go to album
Quickies
by The Magnetic Fields
The band's latest project includes twenty-eight new short songs that clock-in at no longer than just under three minutes.
go to album
Grizzly Bear’s classic debut gets a 15th anniversary vinyl reissue, with a digital companion featuring a bevy of remixes.
go to album
